With increased demand for more wireless communication, the number of radio and antenna units that a tower traditionally supports has increased and is expected to continue to increase. New towers will need to be designed to support greater numbers of antenna and radio units, while existing towers are retrofitted to support more units, and effort is made to fully utilize space available on the towers.
In addition, antennas are becoming larger in order to handle more wireless traffic. One parameter that influences antenna design is Effective Projected Area (EPA), which is determined by calculations defined by TIA/ANSI-222-G. EPA is intended to predict the effect of wind loading on an antenna structure to enable designers to create a safe design. The configuration of the antenna mount can impact the calculations. As such, minimizing an antenna mount's contribution to EPA can be desirable.
In addition, because antennas are typically mounted on towers well above the ground, technicians working on the antennas and their mounts are at some risk. As a result, a mount design that can reduce the time a technician spends on the tower may also be desirable.